Do TREK WRITERS watch Trek Fan Web Series?

[bionicbob]

Since the current slate of wonderful Trek Lit writers are crafting new adventures for our favorite characters and expanding the Trek universe with the Relaunch novels, I was curious if any of them watch the various Star Trek Fan Web Series like PHASE II, HIDDEN FRONTIER or INTREPID? And if they did, what thoughts they had on these interpretations of Trek characters and the direction they have taken the Trek Universe.

In particular, have they watched the HIDDEN FRONTIER/HELENA/ODYSSEY series? I am personally impressed by this series. It has grown immensely over the last 9 years! It taken the post-TNG/DS9/VOY universe in some very interesting and bold directions while featuring appearances by many past Trek characters. The current Helena storyline features the return of Captain Bob Maxwell as one of the main antagonists.

It is IMO a very smart and entertaining alternate take on the Post-TNG era.

 

[Lindley]

Probably not, for legal reasons.

Besides, the HF timeline diverged from the primary Pocket timeline almost immediately, and has been drifting further ever since.

There are some fun parallels, though.

 

[Dayton Ward]

Never watched Hidden Frontier. Have watched New Voyages/Phase II and Starship Exeter, though. Dave Galanter and Howie Weinstein have both written scripts for P2, as well, and Dennis Bailey has written and provided FX work for Exeter.

 

[William Leisner]

I watched part of the one George Takei was in, that got the Nebula nomination. And I'll let the fact that I only watched part serve as my opinion.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I've watched two episodes of New Voyages. The one with the Doomsday Machine was so fanwanky that the download should have come with a condom.

Star Trek Vs. Batman is fantastic, though.

 

[JarodRussell]

Probably not, for legal reasons.

Besides, the HF timeline diverged from the primary Pocket timeline almost immediately, and has been drifting further ever since.

There are some fun parallels, though.

I don't think you can forbid a Trek author to watch or read anything Trek related just because there might be a risk that there might possibly be a story idea or even just a plot element that's close to one of the novels in production. Then he/she would have to stop reading any books and watch any professional program.

 

[Christopher]

^Professional fiction is one thing, amateur another. Authors are obligated to avoid reading fanfiction due to the risk of lawsuit exposure. There have been cases (outside of Trek) where authors have been forced to abandon books in progress because some fan happened to mention a story idea that was too close. Not because that fan filed a lawsuit or had any chance of winning, but simply because the risk of a costly court battle was not worth taking.

I'm not sure this is true for fan films, though. Given that some Trek authors have been involved in actually writing and producing some of them, I would imagine the same limitations don't apply.

 

[ronny]

I watched part of the one George Takei was in, that got the Nebula nomination. And I'll let the fact that I only watched part serve as my opinion.

I've watched two episodes of New Voyages. The one with the Doomsday Machine was so fanwanky that the download should have come with a condom.

I've watched a couple of episodes of the first season of Hidden Frontier and just didn't get into it and never had the interest to try any of the others. Those two comments just make me feel that much better about my decision. Thanks.

 

[JarodRussell]

^Professional fiction is one thing, amateur another. Authors are obligated to avoid reading fanfiction due to the risk of lawsuit exposure. There have been cases (outside of Trek) where authors have been forced to abandon books in progress because some fan happened to mention a story idea that was too close. Not because that fan filed a lawsuit or had any chance of winning, but simply because the risk of a costly court battle was not worth taking.

I'm not sure this is true for fan films, though. Given that some Trek authors have been involved in actually writing and producing some of them, I would imagine the same limitations don't apply.

Why does it not matter if a professional author mentions or even publishes an idea that's too close? Let's say you come up with a story, it's accepted, you're half way finished and then suddenly, a Stargate Universe episode airs with the same story? What would happen then?

 

[Christopher]

^That's not the same situation at all. For one thing, it's a different franchise, different characters, different situations. For another thing, SGU is made by professionals who know the difference between plagiarism and coincidence and aren't going to go around filing frivolous lawsuits just because of an imagined similarity. Any professional writer with any amount of experience is going to know that similar stories crop up all the time, and so won't see that as grounds for legal action. An amateur is a different matter.

Especially since most plagiarism lawsuits are just by opportunists trying to score a buck. Few authors actually commit plagiarism, precisely because it's too great a financial risk. Even if the suits get thrown out, as they usually do, it's still very costly to fight them off.

Fellow professional writers wouldn't file that kind of lawsuit unless they had real evidence to base it on. And anyone who did actually try to commit plagiarism would be foolish to plagiarize something like an SGU episode that's widely seen by the public, as opposed to a piece of fanfic or an unpublished idea. So that's just not a scenario that's likely to lead to any legal difficulty.

 

[JarodRussell]

So is there someone who's reading the fanfics to know if there are any similarities to current projects in order to avoid lawsuits (since I guess a "I never read fan fiction" from the author is not good enough, even if it was true)?

 

[Christopher]

^No, no, the whole point is that we don't read fanfics. It doesn't matter whether there actually are similarities -- the risk is that someone might think there are, or might use a superficial similarity as an excuse to file a nuisance lawsuit. So we have to avoid all fanfic in order to avoid exposing ourselves to the risk.

 

[Lindley]

I watched part of the one George Takei was in, that got the Nebula nomination. And I'll let the fact that I only watched part serve as my opinion.

I've watched two episodes of New Voyages. The one with the Doomsday Machine was so fanwanky that the download should have come with a condom.

I've watched a couple of episodes of the first season of Hidden Frontier and just didn't get into it and never had the interest to try any of the others. Those two comments just make me feel that much better about my decision. Thanks.

The first season of Hidden Frontier is fairly dire. The quality was already notably improving in season 2; by this point, it's pretty consistently good. I've run through the whole thing a couple of times, and it's worth the time overall.

Not that you'd confuse it with a real show (most of the time), but it's extremely watchable, got enough good actors to make the not-so-good ones tolerable, and is not afraid to go some fun places. Risha Denney is superb as Captain Elizabeth Shelby.

I just wish they'd kept Federation One as a video series. Taking it to audio just really sapped my interest....not sure why. I don't mind audiobooks, I just can't get excited about Star Trek fan audios.

To anyone put off by the first season woes, I'd suggest trying the Odyssey premier (although, for better or for worse the lead character changes actors in the second episode----bad timing) or the crossover movie Operation Beta Shield (the teaser of that one is probably the weakest part----it seems to be impossible for any fan film to do hand-to-hand combat convincingly).

Oh, and check out some of the Frontier Guard (non-Trek) promos for the upcoming series done by most of the same people.

 

[JD]

I've watched two episodes of New Voyages. The one with the Doomsday Machine was so fanwanky that the download should have come with a condom.

Star Trek Vs. Batman is fantastic, though.

Which ones did you watch? The first couple were definitely very fanwanky, but once the pros with Trek experience started getting involved, like DC Fontana, and George Takei it started getting alot better. IMO each one has gotten better and better.
Although IMO the best fan production was Of Gods and Men, a three part miniseries with over about 20 different past Trek cast members in it. The cast members included Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Alan Ruck, Garret Wang, Time Russ, Ethan Philips, Cirroc Lofton, JG Hertzler.

 

[TGTheodore]

I watched a few. But as a theater director (and playwright) for 35 years, the acting is usually just too painful for me to watch.

Too bad, because I enjoy a lot of the FX. Just can't sit through the "performances".

--Ted

 

[Therin of Andor]

I've watched a couple of episodes of the first season of Hidden Frontier and just didn't get into it and never had the interest to try any of the others. Those two comments just make me feel that much better about my decision. Thanks.

I have a cameo in the first "Starship Exeter", but even had I not been in it, I would have really enjoyed it! But then, it has Andorians in it!

Like any fanfic, the quality of each production varies, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

So is there someone who's reading the fanfics to know if there are any similarities to current projects in order to avoid lawsuits...?

They haven't found anyone that resilient yet.

 

[BrotherBenny]

^No, no, the whole point is that we don't read fanfics. It doesn't matter whether there actually are similarities -- the risk is that someone might think there are, or might use a superficial similarity as an excuse to file a nuisance lawsuit. So we have to avoid all fanfic in order to avoid exposing ourselves to the risk.

The real problem is the litigious society that we're in. I for one would be walking around on cloud nine if an idea I came up with just happened to be something similar to what a professional author writes. I wouldn't sue them, but maybe I'm just more intelligent/realistic than those opportunistic hacks.

John Grisham's "The Last Juror" is partly about a criminal's revenge on the jurors who convicted him. I wrote a synopsis several years ago (though I never actually started writing the book) about that very same kind of plot. His book is completely different to what I would have written, but I wasn't about to go and sue him for writing about "my idea." It's ludicrous.

But then I think the litigious society that America has become is equally as ludicrous and I blame the lawyers/attorneys/etc for pushing things in that direction and the legal system for not doing more to close loopholes and educate the people. I have no idea what the US judicial system is like and therefore have no way of knowing whether the system and attorneys or the people are to blame, but I'm entitled to my opinion on the subject. As uneducated as it may be.

 

[Therin of Andor]

John Grisham's "The Last Juror" is partly about a criminal's revenge on the jurors who convicted him. I wrote a synopsis several years ago (though I never actually started writing the book) about that very same kind of plot.

Or, you were both inspired by the 1960s "Batman" episode, where Jervis Tetch, the Mad Hatter, did the same thing to all the jurors who'd once convicted him.

 

[BrotherBenny]

John Grisham's "The Last Juror" is partly about a criminal's revenge on the jurors who convicted him. I wrote a synopsis several years ago (though I never actually started writing the book) about that very same kind of plot.

Or, you were both inspired by the 1960s "Batman" episode, where Jervis Tetch, the Mad Hatter, did the same thing to all the jurors who'd once convicted him.

Over twenty years too late for that.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Over twenty years too late for that.

Huh?